Self-draining heat transfer fins



p 9, 1947. v. s. DREIER SELF-DRAINING HEAT TRANSFER PINS Filed June 29, 1944 ATTORNEY Patented.$ept..9,,1947

Victor G. Dreier, Evansville, Ind., asdgnor to Semi, Inc.. New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application June 29, 1944, Serial No. 542,780

6 Claims. (Cl. Git-103) My invention relates to heat transfer fins and more particularly to selfdraining heattransfer fins to be used on evaporators in domestic retion thereof. The moisture which collects on the evaporator coils is either congealed and adheres to the coils or it also drips from the coils, depending upon the temperature of the coils. Heretofore, drip pans have been placed directly under the entire evaporator in order to catch this condensed moisture and prevent it from dripping on to food in the storage compartment. This has not been a satisfactory arrangement, since it interferes with the free circulation of air over the evaporator coils and attached heat exchange fins, thereby lowering the eiliciency of the refrigerator.

It is an object of my invention to provide selfdraining heat transfer fins which not only collect and convey condensed moisture away from the fins themselves, but which also collect and convey any moisture that may drip from the evaporator coils.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will become more apparent when considered in connection with the following description and accompanying drawing which form a part of this specification and in which:

Fig. 1 is a partial perspective view of a refrigerator cabinet showing my improved heat orator shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a. perspective view, partly in section,

of one of my improved heat transfer fins.

with heat transfer fins l3 attached thereto. A drain trough ll extends beneath the bottom rear edges of the heat transfer fins l3 and conveys moisture that drips from said fins into a receptacle l5. This drain trough It may be supported in any suitable manner as by removably suspending it from the heat transfer fins.

The heat transfer fins I: are formed of relatively flat sheet metal with sleeves l6 extending from the central longitudinal portion thereof. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, these sleeves l6 fit around the conduits I! in intimate heat exchange relation and may be welded or otherwise secured to said conduits. The lower portion of each of the heat transfer fins is provided with a trough i1 extending longitudinally beneath the bottom edge of the fin. As shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the heat transfer fins and attached troughs are slidably inclined downwardly from the front to the rear of the evaporator. Long slots or openings l8 are cut out of the lower portion of the fins to reduce heat transfer between the fins proper and the troughs ll, thereby eliminating the collection of condensed moisture on the outside of troughs l1. Trough-like tabs it are integrally attached to and extend transversely from the troughs I'I directly beneath the lower portion of the refrigerating conduits l2 and collect moisture that may drip from said conduits. For purposes of illus- Referring now to the drawing wherein like ref- This evaporator comprises a;

tration, the spacing of the heat transfer fins and the size of the troughs are exaggerated in Fig. i. In practice the fins are spaced closer and the troughs are smaller.

in operation, when relatively warm moist air circulates over the evaporator coils and through the heat transfer fins the moisture is condensed upon the evaporator coils and upon the fins, it

trickles down over the fin surfaces and is collected in troughs it and from there it is conveyed to the common trough it which conveys it to the receptacle it. Any moisture that collects on the evaporator coils i2 drips therefrom into the trough-like tabs it and is conveyed by these tabs into the troughs H.

The general construction of self-draining heat transfer fins is described and claimed in a copending application of Alvin Brothers.

While I have illustrated and described but one specific embodiment of my invention, it obviously may take other forms and it has other uses. My self-draining heat transfer fins are adapted for use wherever moisture is apt to accumulate on the fins and/or on finned evaporator coils. My improved self-draining fins are particularly adapted for use on the sharp freezing or low temperature section of an evaporator wherein condensed moisture accumulates and is congealed upon said evaporator and must be removed therefrom by periodic defrosting. My improved fins are particularly useful with auto matic defrosters in which case instead of conveying the moisture to a receptacle as shown, it may be conveyed to the outside of the refrigerator cabinet and-into a sink drain, for example; Therefore, my invention is limited only by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A self-draining heat transfer fin comprising a relatively fiat sheet metal member formed refrigerant conduits, a plurality of heat trans- -fer fins mounted on said conduits in intimate heat transfer relation therewith, each of said fins being formed of a relatively flat sheet which provides at least two heat transfer faces and with an integral trough formed along one edge of said sheet for collecting moisture that may form on either face of said sheet, and said fins each having elongated slots to provide openings between said heat transfer faces and said trough to reduce heat transfer therebetween.

3. In a cooling apparatus, a substantially horizontal conduit, a plurality of hart transfer fins projecting vertically therefrom, each of said fins being provided with a drain trough located directly therebeneath and a drain tab projecting from said drain trough directly beneath said horizontal conduit.

4. In a cooling apparatus, a cooling element,

a plurality of heat'transfer fins projecting from a said cooling element, a drain trough located directly beneath each of said heat transfer fins, a drain tab projecting from each of said drain troughs directly beneath said cooling element, and a common collecting trough extending transversely beneath one end of each of said drain troughs. I

5. In a refrigerator, an evaporator formed of a plurality of substantially horizontal conduits, a plurality of heat transfer flns attached to said horizontal conduits, each of said fins comprising a relatively fiat vertically disposed sheet metal member, a trough located below said fiat sheet metal member and integrally attached thereto by spaced connecting strips, tabs projecting transversely from said trough directly beneath said horizontal conduits, and a common drain trough located below one end of each of fin troughs.

6. In a refrigerator, a food storage compartment, an evaporator coil located in said food storage compartment, heat transfer fins arranged on said evaporator coil, said fins each comprising a vertically disposed sheet metal member, a trough arranged below said sheet metal member for receiving condensed moisture therefrom, and tabs projecting from said trough directly below said evaporator coil to receive condensed moisture from said coil and convey it to said trough.

VICTOR G. DREIER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

